Problems with downgrading from Android 13 in Xperia 10 III

Devices
#24

I have used the USB 2.0 port all the time which resides in front of the case. It is grouped with USB 3.0 to the same pins on the motherboard though. Now I tried with different cable which is older and does not keep attached very well. The product ID is again different in lsusb and I cannot run the unlock command:

$ sudo ./fastboot oem unlock
FAILED (remote: 'Incorrect format for unlock data')
fastboot: error: Command failed

I have native Windows installed also, so I could try if the unlocking succeeds there.

#25

You need to enter your unlock code after ‘fastboot oem unlock’ command.

For example:
fastboot oem unlock 0xF6147ED3A507FBAD

1 Like
#26

Oh yes, now it went through successfully and now I was able to downgrade it in Emma. So now I can just install Sailfish normally?

#27

Yes, just follow the installation guide. Good Luck :laughing:

#28

Congrats and good luck!

#29

Not yet all the obstacles are defeated:

$ sudo ./flash.sh
Flash utility v1.2
Detected Linux
Searching device to flash..
Found XQ-BT52, serial:HQ61A914E5, baseband:62.0.A.3.109, bootloader:1322-1665_X_Boot_SM6350_LA2.0_R_49
Found matching device with serial HQ61A914E5
Fastboot command: fastboot -s HQ61A914E5
>> fastboot -s HQ61A914E5 getvar secure
<< getvar:secure FAILED (remote: unknown command)

Then I ran the command again:


$ sudo ./flash.sh
Flash utility v1.2
Detected Linux
Searching device to flash..
Found FAILED, serial:HQ61A914E5, baseband:FAILED, bootloader:FAILED
No valid devices found.

Checksums are valid:

$ md5sum -c md5.lst
AdbWinApi.dll: OK
AdbWinUsbApi.dll: OK
dtbo.img: OK
fastboot.exe: OK
flash-config.sh: OK
flash-on-windows.bat: OK
flash.sh: OK
flashing-README.txt: OK
hw-release: OK
hybris-boot.img: OK
hybris-recovery.img: OK
os-release: OK
sailfish.img001: OK

EDIT: Now it succeeded!
I first connected the phone pressing vol up, ran the flash, got Searching device to flash.. then I connected the phone again while pressing vol down and now it ran the flashing successfully.

1 Like
Sony Xperia III - Android 12
#30

Do i get this right? You were able to downgrade an Xperia 10iii with Android 13 to some older Android Version and after install Sailfish?

I am asking because i may buy an xperia 10 iii - but it has the newest updates installed - which is afaik Android 13 (which is not listed as supported for flashing on Jolla Devices list). Also i could not find a howto for downgrading the Xperia 10ii to e.g. Android 12 or lower.

#31

Yes, it is possible. Just download first the flashing tool called Emma: https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/flash-tool/download-flash-tool/ If Emma complains that your device bootloader is still locked even though you have unlocked it from developer mode, you need to unlock it with fastboot.

Then just follow instructions on this page: Reinstalling Sailfish OS | Sailfish OS Documentation

2 Likes
#32

Hello, I have a different problem downgrading from Android 13 to Android 12 in Xperia 10 iii using Sony’s Emma tool. I unlocked the bootloader following the directions on Sony’s developer website, using the unlock code I generated on Sony’s site and fastboot on Debian. I then connected my Xperia 10 iii in flash mode to a Windows 10 machine, and Emma correctly shows my phone.

However, in the Select Service list, it only shows three choices, each of which is XQ-BT52 62.2.A. How do I find an option to downgrade to 62.1.A, the latest tested Android version according to Jolla’s website, Reinstalling Sailfish OS | Sailfish OS Documentation?

Thanks!

#33

Maybe you could try to download the correct Android version with Xperifirm and flash it with Newflasher.

#34

I installed Sailfish on nearly all available Android versions and i couldn’t find a difference.

#35

Including Android 13?

#36

Yes, just give it a try.

#37

November 2023:
After unlocking the phone, downgrading from fully up to date Android 13 to Android 11 ready to flash Sailfish “official recommended & tested way” showed to be and easy “one step” operation with Sony EMMA flashing tool on windows 10.

In Sony EMMA I used the first of 3 options: A.3.109 something. (Android version was not indicated as number 11 in EMMA but from the Sailfish support link below I got confirmation that this is indeed the right one:

“As of March 2023, the latest services were as below but note that the exact version ID’s can vary by model (regular/Plus/Ultra) and by sales area.”

Device Xperia 10 III
Android baseband version: 62.0. A.3.109 (Android 11)

For the rest “happy flashing” is an overstatement but the official guide worked well and I just found it not clear written in step 4.2 that you need to put the Sony SW_binaries_for_Xperia_Android_11_4.19_v9a_lena files and the Sailfish Sailfish_OS-Jolla-4.5.0.24-xqbt52-1.0.1.23 files together.in one folder to prepare for Sailfish flashing.
These file names where the ones official provided in the download links early Nov. 2023

No need to follow over the air updates of a certain version of Android 11 to reach a certain version number of 11 , relocking / unlocking boot loader etc… as some posters over time have mentioned.

Happy to report the tools (EMMA, Fastboot, drivers on Windows 10,…) and USB connections

2 Likes
#38

For what it’s worth, regardless the labels, the logic could be that the top one is 11 , middle 12 and lower one version 13.

#39

That’s because chapter 5 (5.3 specifically) deals with that part.

1 Like
#40

I overlooked that, sorry, small monitor, broken printer…

Summary for non programmer structured thinkers / 4 yearly flashers:

Pre requisites before starting unlocking/downgrading/flashing/: access to internet and prepare following downloads
Emma
Fastboot driver driver
…
Sony and Sailfish (free or purchased) files for your device and readily dowloaded

8: Flashing:
Extract Sailfish OS and Sony File both in same folder
Start flashing program from within this folder

#41

Well, next time you’ll have someone reading only the important parts, but according to their views, wishing it was the other way around…

¯\(ツ)/¯

#42

I fiddled around with fastboot drivers for hours before remembering my USB cable might not be wired for data. I switched it and suddenly everything worked.

I know it’s in bold in the guide but I think they need to emphasise it more.

1 Like
#43

Bold, underlined, red and bigger font size!
congrats that it finally worked!

2 Likes